The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
To increase the cargo capacity of a motor vehicle, a crossbar and rail assembly may be installed on the roof of the motor vehicle. Cargo may be secured to the crossbar and rail assembly which acts as a universal attachment point between the motor vehicle and the cargo. Examples of cargo include ski or snowboards, bikes, cargo cages, or cargo containers, to name but a few. The crossbar and rail assembly is typically attached directly to the roof panel of the motor vehicle.
The roof rails are typically long parts, and thus require large injection mold tools and presses to be manufactured. The cost of the large tools and presses is higher compared to smaller tools and presses. Also, vehicles have varying lengths, so each vehicle model requires separate roof rail tooling, at great expense. To reduce the tooling and press costs and allow roof rails parts, particularly the substrate which is not an exposed surface on the vehicle, to be used across multiple vehicle types, a new and improved design for a substrate for a roof rail is desirable.